iTunes Moves 125,000 Disney Flicks in Under a Week

Sep 20th, 2006 | By | Category: Digital Video Downloads, iPods & Portable Media Players, Video

Disney has sold 125,000 digital copies of films through Apple Computer’s iTunes store in less than a week, generating $1 million, Disney chief executive Robert Iger said Tuesday. iTunes lets users purchase movies online that can be downloaded for viewing on a computer or on video iPods.

“Clearly customers are saying to us they want content in multiple ways,” Iger said.

Iger also said that selling shows online has not cannibalized sales of DVDs, nor has it hurt traditional TV viewing. Disney expects revenue of $50 million in the first year from its iTunes partnership.


So far, Disney is the only studio selling films on iTunes. Disney was also the first studio to agree last year to sell television shows on iTunes. Other studios quickly followed suit.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently became Disney’s largest shareholder and a board member after he sold his other company, Pixar Animation Studios, to Disney. Job’s board position is working to Apple’s benefit, letting them be leaders in digital content distribution.

Iger said the relationship has helped him better understand some of the technology Apple is developing.

“He has become very quickly not only a great sounding board but a great adviser,” Iger said.

Iger also said Disney will concentrate more on offering content on its own Web sites rather than selling TV shows and films on every emerging platform. Disney has yet to strike deals to sell content through Google Inc.’s video store, for instance, or similar efforts launched by Yahoo Inc. and others.

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